Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were American outlaws who traveled throughout the Midwest during the Great Depression with their gang, committing bank robberies, kidnappings, and murders between 1932 and 1934. While Parker had dreams of Hollywood, it was their life of crime that brought them notoriety.
Parker did finally make it to Hollywood, thanks to Faye Dunaway’s Oscar-nominated performance in the 1967 film “Bonnie and Clyde,” starring Warren Beatty as Barrow and directed by Arthur Penn. With nine Academy Award nominations and selection for preservation by the Library of Congress, the film brought the duo and their gang, long since forgotten by the general public, a new level of notoriety.
Well, they’re back yet again. “Bonnie and Clyde: The Musical,” now in previews at the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, will open officially on Saturday to a sold-out house, and run through Aug. 24.
The show, with music by Frank Wildhorn, lyrics by Don Black, and book by Ivan Menchell, premiered in San Diego in 2009. When it opened on Broadway two years later, it received two Tony Award nominations and four Drama Desk nods. It has since been produced worldwide.
“It’s beloved in the theater community because of its score, but also, I think, because of these extraordinary characters and story,” said Scott Schwartz, the theater’s artistic director and the director of this production. “It’s very romantic, very passionate, and it’s this story about people who are outlaws who become celebrities. They’re kind of the progenitors of social-media celebrities, so I thought that would be a really interesting story to tell this summer.”
Six years ago Mr. Wildhorn, an acclaimed composer, told Mr. Schwartz he’d like to see him direct the musical at Bay Street. “He said we could do something new and fresh with it, and that having the audience so close to the action would be great for the show,” said Mr. Schwartz. “I started thinking about it and fell in love with the show, but then there was the pandemic, and other things intervened. But this felt like the right year for it.”
The production stars Charlie Webb as Clyde Barrow, Lyda Jade Harlan as Bonnie Parker, Nick Bailey as Marvin (Buck) Barrow, Clyde’s older brother, and Ashley Alexandra as Blanche Barrow, Marvin’s wife.
While the original Broadway production was standard size, with 18 to 20 people onstage, Bay Street’s production has been stripped down to concentrate on the central relationships and the central characters. “We’re focusing on Bonnie and Clyde’s quest for fame and their desire to be seen and be known,” said Mr. Schwartz. “We’ve been inspired by theater marquee lights. The set has over 400 lightbulbs on it, it’s quite dazzling. We use staging and dance and sound and singing to convey the story.”
And yes, there will be gunplay. “That is who they were. They were bank robbers, they did kill people. It’s a story about how these young people went down a path to darkness, and we follow them on that path.” While there are guns, he stressed that none are capable of being fired, though there will be loud sound effects and moments when it feels as if people are actually shooting.
While the musical is telling a serious story, “It’s a lot of fun, it’s a wild ride, it’s like a true crime thriller, and you go on this outlaw adventure. That combination of excitement and great music and some intellect, we hope will be really appealing to people.”
Tickets range from $59.99 to $139.99. Performances happen on Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 7 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8, with 2 p.m. matinees on Sundays and Wednesdays.
